A conventional dust-collecting apparatus of a vacuum cleaner draws in air laden with dust and separates the dust from the air. The term “dust” will be used herein to refer collectively to dust, dirt, particulates, debris, contaminants, and other similar matter that can be entrained with the air suctioned by the vacuum cleaner. The conventional dust-collecting apparatus has become widely used because it can be used without the inconvenience of frequently replacing a dust bag.
The conventional dust-collecting apparatus may typically comprise a filter through which air laden with dust passes to separate the dust from the air and a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus which whirls air laden with dust and separates the dust from the air using centrifugal force.
As disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 412,583, the conventional cyclone dust-collecting apparatus usually has a cyclone unit vertically installed, a cyclone body with an air inlet formed on its side, an air outlet formed on its top, and a dust receptacle connected to a bottom part of the cyclone unit. Accordingly, external air and dust are drawn in through the side of the cyclone body, and the air swirls in a downward direction in the cyclone body. The dust is removed from the air and collected in the dust receptacle. However, such a conventional cyclone dust-collecting apparatus requires the dust receptacle to be relatively small. As a result, the conventional cyclone dust-collecting apparatus is inconvenient to use because the dust receptacle needs to be dumped frequently. Furthermore, because air swirls and moves in the same direction in which dust falls, the dust collected in the dust receptacle is entrained by the swirling air and flows back from a first dust-collecting chamber.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,292 discloses a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus, in which a dust-collecting unit and a dust receptacle are mounted at right angles so that air swirls and moves in a direction different from the direction in which dust falls in order to prevent the dust from flowing back. However, the dust-collecting apparatus has a large volume and the dust-separating efficiency is low.